Johnny Paycheck’s “Take This Job And Shove It” pretty much says it all for a whole lot of us.

Work really cuts into the day
I never realized how much I dislike work until I stopped. Working gets in the way of everything a person really wants to do. Other than just an inconvenience, working isn’t all that much fun. Who can successfully argue otherwise? Ever hear it said that turning a very enjoyable hobby into an income producing endeavor is the worst mistake one can make? All the fun disappears.

The boss
Bosses are the key to one either tolerating work or despise the site of the workplace. Too, bosses are what makes or breaks an organization. The effort of good bosses attracts customers. The effort of bad bosses drives customers to competitors.

But the best a boss can do for the worker is make the workplace tolerable. That’s all. Never enjoyable for the long term. Why? Because the workday brings conflict and stress, even for the best of team players. I’ve heard people say they like their job so much they would work without pay. But those I’ve heard say it never did it.

I’ve had bosses both ways - some good and some bad - but most were between the two poles.

The boss I liked the most and got along with the best was a guy who left me alone. The boss I disliked the most and got along with almost, but not quite, the least was a different guy who left me alone as well.

The first of the two appreciated what I did. He let me work and only insisted I:

• give him an annual department budget with monthly variance reports,

• take information to him that I thought he should have and

• handle my department with little guidance from him.

The second of the two was a different story. He pretty much ignored me but I didn’t mind for various reasons. I was unproductive for all of four years. But, I became a very proficient clock watcher. Analog or digital. It didn’t matter. I mastered both.

The very worst boss of all during my 50 years in the workplace was the boss who didn’t know how to treat employees. Instead of getting out in front and inspiring the rank-and-file, he prodded from behind with thinly disguised threats.

Bad bosses either never learn or take a long time learning that effective leaders make themselves look good by giving their superiors what they want. And, as with machinery, they do so with well-oiled resources - happy humans working in harmony.

Superiors
From the entry level new hire to the sole owner, every single person working for a living in the private sector has a superior. The highest ranking superior is the customer. Plumbers, entertainers, professional sports figures, farmers and everyone else must satisfy the people who buy their goods and services.

Government workers
Government workers are the exception for the customer’s place in the hierarchy of superiors means nothing to them. We have to take what we get, bad service and all. They must know it too for they so often seem contentious.

Also, how can one judge the performance of government workers anyway? A rhetorical question of course. We might have a chance with, for example, local police and school teachers. Beyond that is a joke.

Still, each government worker has to satisfy a boss.

It’s a two way street
I contend bosses are a product of both their superiors and subordinates. The good boss works hard to make his or her boss succeed. The good boss works hard to gain the respect and admiration of subordinates as well.

Bosses are the backbone of successful organizations. They are the part of a communication network that carries the heaviest traffic.

It’s an easy concept to understand but it isn’t a concept easy to execute successfully.